If the toner hopper is separated from the adjoining chamber of the toner cartridge, then a seal may be readily applied using adhesive, heat fusion or other techniques not readily implemented when the two chambers are attached. This invention is specifically directed to developing a insertable seal for the Canon SX Toner cartridge. The original seal in that cartridge is a thin sheet of polyethylene folded back on itself in the long dimension to form a double lamination, with the lamination facing the toner hopper attached to the opening of the hopper. The seal extends out of the cartridge with a plastic tab attached to it to form a handle. At tile time of use, the handle is pulled. The attachment is broken by the pulling force, and the seal is removed. That seal is flimsy and can not be reinserted into the cartridge.
The toner hopper has an access opening from which a plug can be removed, through which toner can be replaced in the hopper. A seal must be applied to the bottom opening of the toner hopper so that the refilled cartridge can be transported. A seal which can be simply and directly inserted in the channel of the hopper in which the original seal was located avoids the costs and burdens of breaking the attachment of the toner hopper to the adjoining chamber. It is also desirable to avoid the costs and burdens of employing a tool which enters the cartridge through the channel to carry the seal to its place or to apply adhesive or heat or the like.
This invention employs a strip having a support lamination and a resilient lamination. Such reinsertable seals are known, as shown in IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin article entitled "Lid Assembly", by D. J. Lasher, J. P. Wang and F. Y. Wills, Vol. 13, No. 11, Apr. 1971, p. 3218, which describes subject matter widely sold commercially beginning in the early 1970's, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,684, which advocates facing the hopper with the support layer, the opposite of this invention. This invention attaches a compliant outer layer to the resilient lamination, which is significant both for improved insertion and extraction for minimizing toner carried out by the strip when it is removed.